This video by The Colorado Education Initiative speaks to what Fremont Regional Wellness is trying to do in Cañon City Schools, Florence and Penrose RE-2 and Cotopaxi RE-3. For a lot more videos by CEI that further explain what kind of work we do, please click here.

A major way we try to get kids ready to learn is the implementation of brain boosters. The importance of brain boosters in the classroom is scientifically proven. Action For Healthy Kids explains it like this: "Movement increases brain function. It's as simple as that. Using physical activity challenges in the classroom helps children get ready to learn and remember information better. Physical movement increases blood flow, bringing more oxygen to the brain and leads to improved concentration."

"Scans measuring brain activity of active vs. inactive students show that the brain 'lights up' differently while the kids perform the same cognitive tasks. More active children have efficient and effective brain activation patterns." -- Dr. Laura Chaddock-Heyman, Phd, Research Scientist, University of Illinois-Champaign

GoNoodle is a free website with interactive games and videos that help kids focus. If your class has too much of the wrong kind of energy (zoned out, wiggles galore, bouncing off the walls) then GoNoodle might be the perfect remedy. Helping students manage their energy makes the class more focused and productive.

​GoNoodle offers breaks for just the right time -- morning meetings, subject transitions, afternoon slumps, before tests and anytime students need to let out the wiggles.

Visit GoNoodle.com, spend two minutes creating a free teacher account then play the videos on a screen that the entire class can see.

Below are some options that are created by GoNoodle but found elsewhere on the Internet. It's best to go straight to GoNoodle.com for the full experience for students.

​YouTube is a great place to find thousands of brain boosters for all different age groups. Here is a popular brain booster that many Fremont County students love. Learn how to do the Sid Shuffle as your favorite Ice Age character teaches you the moves to the coolest dance craze sweeping the globe.

The Learning Station explains itself as "healthy music for a child's heart, body and mind!" and offers many brain boosters geared toward elementary school-aged students. Here is one of dozens of different videos they feature.

In the 2012-13 school year, Cañon City Schools and Pueblo City-County Health Department began working together to bring an exciting new way of learning to Fremont County. Through the Colorado Active Learning Project, schools applied for mini grants that would fund playground markings, brain booster resources and peer-led game resources. Below are some of the photos that have now been painted at all elementary schools in Fremont County and will soon be painted at Cañon City Middle School.

To read more about how CALP and schools in Fremont County have partnered to create a winning combination, please click here.

Here are several examples of pencil pushups that you can teach your students:

BASIC PENCIL PUSHUPHold a pencil out at arm’s length in front of you. Slowly bring it toward your nose. When you see 2 pencils, push the pencil out slightly until you see 1 again. Focus on the pencil tip for 10 seconds, and then push it back out to arm’s length. Repeat.

NEAR & FARHold a pencil out at arm’s length in front of you. Bring it toward you. When you can no longer focus on the pencil, push it out slightly until you can focus on it. Hold it there. Alternately, focus on pencil tip, then object in the distance, then back to pencil.

FIGURE 8Hold pencil out at arm’s length in front of you. Make a figure 8 design in the air. Without moving your head and just using your eyes, follow the pencil tip through the air.

​PERIPHERAL VISION Hold pencil out at arm’s length in front of you. Focus on an object beyond the pencil. Move pencil laterally until it is out of your field of vision. Then bring pencil back in front of you. Repeat. You can also move pencil up and down while focusing on the object instead of side to side.

To download the full one-pager, please click here. The page is intended to print front and back, cut it down the middle and you'll have two complete copies of the resource.

Selling cookies and sweets as fundraisers might raise some upfront money, but what message are we sending to our students and community? With a little creative thinking, schools can earn just as much money using healthy, non-food fundraising.

Food, beverages and candy are commonly used in schools to reward good behavior and academic performance. Often these foods have little or no nutritional value and are inconsistent with nutrition policies for foods sold on campus. Rewarding students with candy and sweets contradicts the teaching and modeling of behaviors and skills that promote student health.

Disadvantages to using food as a reward include:

Undermining nutrition education taught in the classroom

Encourages over-consumption of foods high in sugar and fat

Teaches students toe at when they are not hungry as a reward to themselves

All snacks/drinks meet the new Smart Snack rules. Simply place your order with Nutritional Services for any school or community event and we will deliver! Never worry about your school snacks again, let Nutritional Services do the work.

Please provide one week notice. To place an order, please call 719-276-5814/5813.